Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Holdings Lessened by Mendota Financial Group LLC

Mendota Financial Group LLC reduced its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 14.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,602 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 262 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up 0.4% of Mendota Financial Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Mendota Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $675,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. WFA Asset Management Corp increased its stake in Microsoft by 27.0% during the 1st quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 1,016 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $427,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the period. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. increased its stake in Microsoft by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 12,658 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $5,658,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Nicholas Investment Partners LP increased its stake in Microsoft by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Nicholas Investment Partners LP now owns 39,743 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $17,763,000 after buying an additional 1,164 shares during the period. Welch Capital Partners LLC NY increased its stake in Microsoft by 51.2% during the 2nd quarter. Welch Capital Partners LLC NY now owns 3,137 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,402,000 after buying an additional 1,062 shares during the period. Finally, Cowen AND Company LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 836.5% during the 2nd quarter. Cowen AND Company LLC now owns 46,617 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $20,835,000 after buying an additional 41,639 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.48, for a total value of $423,480.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 56,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,931,278.28. This trade represents a 1.74 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders have sold 8,000 shares of company stock worth $3,493,820. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $408.25 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $425.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $422.88. Microsoft Co. has a twelve month low of $385.58 and a twelve month high of $468.35. The stock has a market cap of $3.03 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.87, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.08. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.93 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on MSFT. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Loop Capital lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $510.96.

Microsoft Company Profile

Microsoft Corporation develops and supports software, services, devices and solutions worldwide. The Productivity and Business Processes segment offers office, exchange, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, office 365 Security and Compliance, Microsoft viva, and Microsoft 365 copilot; and office consumer services, such as Microsoft 365 consumer subscriptions, Office licensed on-premises, and other office services.